Standing on the Place Charles-de-Gaulle in Paris (formerly the Place de l'Étoile), the Arc de Triomphe is one of the most recognisable monuments in Paris. Erected between 1806 and 1836 to honour the armies of the French Revolution and the First French Empire, the monument features numerous inscriptions commemorating the battles of 1792-1815 and the commanders who took part in them. Among the inscriptions one can find localities in Poland and Polish names.

The idea to create a monument modelled on the ancient arches at the borders of Roman cities, under which armies marched after returning from victorious campaigns, was born in 1805 on the initiative of Napoleon Bonaparte. Work under the supervision of French architect Jean-François Chalgrin began in 1806. By 1835, a team of sculptors, including François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot and Henri Lemaire, working on the realisation had completed the sculptural decoration programme. At the time, the architect Guillaume-Abel Blouet, who was in charge of the arch at its final stage, wishing to meet Napoleon's requirements to add variety to the austere, unfilled spaces of the arch, applied for approval to place inscriptions in the free spaces of the arch with 'the great battles and the names of the Revolution and the Empire'. The concept was welcomed by the authorities and on 20 February 1836, General Saint Cyr Nugues presented a selection of 30 decisive clashes, 96 significant but smaller battles and a list of 384 names of Revolutionary and Napoleonic commanders. The unveiling of the monument was accompanied by a wave of discontent and an influx of complaints. It took until 1895 for applications to complete the lists to be considered. As a result, today one can admire on the monument a list of 174 names of places where battles took place and 660 names - among them inscriptions connected with Poland.

To commemorate the victories, the names of the following Polish localities were placed on the monument:

"Pultusk" (Pułtusk) - although the battle fought on 26 December 1806 did not result in a final settlement, due to the exhaustion of the enemy's troops it ended the winter campaign of 1806 and was included in the list of French victories

"Breslaw" (Wrocław - located outside the borders of the Republic after 1918) - the fortress gave way after almost a month of siege on 5 January 1807.

"Ostrolenka" (Ostrolenka) - the battle fought on 16 February 1807 enabled further manoeuvres in the Mazury region

"Dantzig" (Danzig) - the capture of the fortress on 24 May 1807 after a siege of more than two months freed Napoleonic troops from the threat of a counterattack by Prussian-Russian forces

and "Heilsberg" (Lidzbark Warmiński) - the battle fought on 10 June 1807 was the foreground for the later victory at Friedland.

In addition, the following Poles are listed among the names of military commanders who rose to fame in the battles fought by France between 1792 and 1815:

"Klopisky" - Józef Chłopicki (1771-1845) - general, colonel and commander of the 1st infantry regiment of the Polish-Italian Legion and commander of the Nadwiślańska Legion,

"Dombrowsky" - Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (1755-1818) - general, founder of the Polish Legions in Italy, commander of a division of the Polish Army of the Duchy of Warsaw,

"Kniaziewicz" - Karol Kniaziewicz (1762-1842) - general, founder and commander of the Danube Legion, the inscription with his name was added in 1839 after his personal intervention,

"Lasowski" - Józef Feliks Łazowski (1759-1812) - general, military engineer,

"Sulkosky" - Jozef Sulkowski (1773-1798) - officer, Napoleon's adjutant,

"Poniatowski" - Józef Poniatowski (1763-1813) - Polish prince and crown prince of Bohemia, general, commander of the crown army of the Republic, minister of war and commander-in-chief of the Polish army of the Duchy of Warsaw, marshal of France,

and "Zayonscheck" - Józef Zajączek (1752-1826) - general, took part in Napoleon's campaigns in Italy and Egypt, commander of the 1st Northern Legion and the Kalisz Legion, 2nd Division of the Polish Army of the Duchy of Warsaw.